"As a NBA fan I want to apologize to the fans, I cannot believe how bad the NBA is right now, I’m a fan first and foremost, watching the NBA right now I’m embarrassed about the product we’re putting out there right now. It’s no fun for me to watch these games, I feel bad for the fans.

"There are probably ten teams worth watching on a nightly basis. They have all these built in excuse about it’s the lockout. Let me tell you something if these teams played once a week they would still suck. You watch one of these teams and they rested for a week they would still suck. I don’t know man. I feel bad for the fans."

Barkley, of course, is a known contrarian, and his critique simply doesn't pass the smell test.

As TrueHoop.com noted on Thursday, arena attendance is up while television ratings and internet traffic are both way up. In other words, Barkley is apologizing to a lot of people whose collective decision-making suggests they don't feel particularly aggrieved.

The numbers have been crunched, and scoring, offensive efficiency and shooting percentages are all down this season. The condensed schedule has led to some truly ugly abominations. The Charlotte Bobcats got blown out by 44-points on Wednesday night, for example, and the Orlando Magic went from juggernaught to downright unwatchable in less than a week.

But, by and large, the ugliness is masked very, very nicely by the sheer volume of games. One thing is for sure: no one is dwelling on individual games this season, there is simply no time for it. On to the next one, as Jay-Z might say. It's a way of life in this year's NBA.

Less rest days and more games means shorter memories for players and media but it also produces a new viewing experience for fans. Gone are the regular nights where there are but a handful of games to choose from. Even if, like Barkley says, only one/third of the league is worth watching, that's 10 teams. On any given night, 4-6 of those teams are liable to be playing, meaning the odds that there are at least two entertaining games to hold a fan's interest are pretty high. There aren't many people in the United States who expect, or require, more than two good games per night from the league.

Apparently, Barkley is one of them. Or, he at least wants to pretend to be one of them. That's his perogative. But in a week that saw LeBron James jump over a human being during an alley-oop and Blake Griffin deliver one of the most memorable dunks in league history over a 30-hour timespan, his stance isn't convincing in the slightest.

‘‘His energy level is not the same,” Barkley said. “I have loved how hard he has worked, but he has not played up to his capabilities this year. Even though Chicago has a great record, he has not played like he has played the last couple of years.’’

Noah's raw stats are down across the board so far this season. In 16 games, he's averaging 7.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 block and .6 steals per game. All of those numbers are down from 2010-2011, when he put up 11.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.

Of course, Noah played 32.8 minutes per game last season while he is so far logging just 26.6 minutes per game in 2011-2012. He's been benched for the entire fourth quarter multiple times, something you rarely see with a player who has established a reputation as an elite defensive player and rebounder. Reserve center Omer Asik, meanwhile, has seen his playing time up from 12.1 minutes per game last season to 17.4 minutes per game.

Has Noah's productivity dip meaningfully affected Chicago to this point? It certainly doesn't seem like it.

The 13-3 Bulls sit atop the Eastern Conference, boasting the league's second best defense and best rebounding rate. In both metrics, they are posting better numbers than they did last season. Offensively, Chicago is currently ranked No. 7 in the NBA, up from last season's No. 12 ranking.

While Bulls fans have expressed disappointment with his play to this point, Noah's per-minute production this year is roughly the same as last year when it comes to rebounds, steals and blocks, the statistics we most often associate with "energy" when it comes to evaluating big men.

The major difference in Noah's numbers is actually his shooting, where he's significantly worse. Indeed, Noah is shooting just 41.2 percent from the field, his worst mark in his five years as a pro and more than 10 percent below his 52.5 percent shooting last season. His bread-and-butter paint scoring accounts for that slippage: he's shooting worse at the rim (47.1 percent, down from 61.7 percent) and from 3-9 feet (26.3 percent, down from 38.5 percent), according to HoopData.com.

As of Wednesday, the Bulls were the only team in the NBA that has played 16 games so far this season. That Noah's minutes and shooting numbers are down so significantly without it impacting Chicago's won/loss record is a quintessential example of a "good problem to have" during this lockout-shortened season. Having a capable reserve in Asik to cover for Noah when he struggles is an absolute luxury.

The Bulls will need more from Noah as the season progresses, particularly in the playoffs, but this critique is a classic nitpicking of a solid all-around team rather than any kind of a crisis. Noah's track record as a worker shouldn't be overshadowed by a slow start.

Shaquille O'Neal spent 19 years in the NBA as arguably the most dominant center of all-time, but he's in his first year as a basketball commentator for TNT and he's off to a sloppy start.

During Thursday night's telecast if Inside The NBA, O'Neal accidentally said the word "s***" with his microphone still live as the crew went to a commercial break. O'Neal was on the set with host Ernie Johnson and fellow commentators Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.

"You know who I blame for that s***, I blame..." Shaq began, before Smith cut in with an "Oh!" and the segue way to commercials could actually take place. O'Neal was not visible when he uttered the profanity, with the outro graphics already rolling.

Yahoo Sports notes that the TNT panel tried to make amends for O'Neal's profanity by making light of it later in the broadcast.

The good news is that TNT characteristically managed to have a little fun with the moment. At halftime of the Grizzlies/Knicks game that kicked off the doubleheader, Shaq stuffed a bar of soap in his mouth to wash out all the bad words.

O'Neal's commentating work was recently the subject of some mocking by Barkley, who hosted Saturday Night Live last weekend and imitated his low-energy, marble-mouthed delivery. Barkley was also caught on a live microphone during a recent TNT broadcast referring to his endorsement of Weight Watchers as a "scam."

Charles Barkley is no stranger to media frenzy. So it's a little baffling why he's surprised at the reaction Tim Tebow has provoked from this country. But there he is, on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia talking about how everyone needs to seriously stop with the Tebowning:

“The national nightmare continues. Hey listen I like Tim Tebow but there comes a point, he had a great game. He’s supposed to have a great game. They want to make it seem like oh the world is aligned correct. I’m like he does play quarterback. He is supposed to play well. (Host: So you’ve had enough of Tebow?) I think the world has. (Host: There’s a lot of Tebow fans out there. I’ve had enough and I’m not a big Tebow guy and they’re just killing me about Tebow.) First of all Mike I don’t know anything you said about Tebow but let’s just say the jury is still out on Tebow. He seems like a nice kid but these ups and downs are so different. The jury is still out on Tebow. Just because he had a great game and made four or five great throws yesterday doesn’t mean he’s gonna be a great starting quarterback in the NFL.”

For what it's worth, Barkley averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds in his first playoffs with the Sixers in '85, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals before being eliminated 4-1 by the Celtics.

Still, Barkley should be pretty aware that this is how it works. It's not how good you actually are (though 316 yards passing against the Steelers, even a phenomenally banged up Steelers, is pretty impressive), it's how good you're perceived to be by the media and fans. Tebow is a polarizing figure that has managed to win his way into the second round of the playoffs, facing the heavily favored Patriots. Barkley may not like that Tebowmania is happening but there's no way he should be surprised, nor can he deny that there's something to the madness.

Charles Barkley hosted Saturday Night Live for the third time, well, Saturday, and the show kicked off with Sir Charles sitting in Shaq's new seat on Inside the NBA. I'd say Barkley did a pretty nice job of playing Shaq. He kept it good and boring.

The whole sketch definitely wasn't that far off from a real episode of Inside the NBA though. Maybe there aren't baby bonnets and golf cart races, but there are Christmas trees getting knocked over and people's heads and a whole lot of nonsense. Honestly, I'm not sure any skit could do it justice. Inside the NBA is probably just funnier on its own.

The man once known by the nickname "The Round Mound Of Rebound" has been waging a very public battle against his waistline. As a celebrity endorser of Weight Watchers, NBA Hall of Famer and TNT commentator Charles Barkley has sung the weight loss program's virtues during a nationally-televised ad campaign.

Caught on a live microphone during the first quarter of Thursday night's Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks broadcast, though, Barkley offered a different take, calling the money he earns from the endorsement a "scam" while joking with Reggie Miller and Kevin Harlan off the air. In fairness, he was comparing it to the relatively easy money he makes as an NBA analyst.

"I have to lose two pounds a week. I'm at 38 pounds now. They come and weigh me every two weeks. I've never missed a weigh-in. I'm never going to," Barkley begins. "I'm feeling much better. But I ain't giving away no money. ... I'm not giving away no free money. I thought this was the greatest scam going -- getting paid to watch sports -- but this Weight Watchers thing is a bigger scam."

His endorsement deal wasn't the only topic during Barkley's unflitered commentary. "I can't stand to watch this Atlanta Hawks team," he admitted. "The Hawks have nothing but a bunch of nice guys."

Update (4:55 p.m.): On Friday, a PR firm representing WeightWatchers issued statements on behalf of the company and Barkley.

"We love Charles for the same reason everyone loves Charles, he's unfiltered," Weight Watchers' statement read. "We are thrilled that he is having great success and inspiring millions of men to join him. We agree that being a spokesman for Weight Watchers is a pretty great gig.”

"I meant what I said, the fact that I’m dropping pounds, getting healthier and getting paid at the same time, is my definition of a great scam," Barkley's statement read. "The only problem is I’m going to have to use some of the money to buy a new wardrobe."

Ball Don't Lie notes that NBA legend and TNT commentator Shaquille O'Neal recently joked that he would pay $1,000 to anyone who got a tattoo commemorating the famous kiss between Charles Barkley and Dick Bavetta. The Hall of Fame forward and NBA official puckered up after a footrace at 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend.

Well, that tossaway line by O'Neal apparently caused someone to get the smooch inked on his body.

KEYT.com reports that Emmet Bentle, a bartender in Santa Barbara, California, actually got the image tattooed on his ankle.

"Yeah, I'm hoping Shaq sees it, at least responds and if I get the one thousand dollars great, but if I don't its cool, just get my name out there, get my 15 minutes, you know," said Bentley.

Emmet signed up for Twitter over the weekend, in order to specifically post the picture. Now, he has more than 100 followers, but as of right now, no word from Shaq.

Here's a larger picture of the tattoo. The tattoo shows the two men kissing on the lips with hearts sprouting like flowers in the background. 15 minutes of fame; a lifetime of your ankle being "Where Amazing Happens."

Nobody understands Michael Jordan the competitor better than his good friend, Basketball Hall of Famer and television commentator Charles Barkley.

Jordan, majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, has drawn criticism from current NBA players who believe he is a "hypocrite" for taking a hard-line stance against the players during these negotiations when he famously took a hard-line stance against the owners during similar negotiations during the late-1990s.

On Michael Jordan’s role in the negotiations and the Heat he’s taking for his tough role in the negotiations

“Well first of all, don’t believe everything you hear. But Michael is an owner now. He can’t sacrifice his franchise. Listen, he’s the reason that all us players are making the money that we are today. But with that being said, he’s an owner now, he’s got to do what’s best for his franchise. I think it’s silly for players to think MJ should sacrifice the whole NBA for the rights of the players. He’s not a player anymore. When he played, he spoke for the players, he made sure every player got paid an enormous amount of money, but right now he’s an owner. That being said, I’ve been very disappointed with some of the owners as far as — look, this is a partnership, and it’s not like a regular business. I don’t think the players should never go lower than 50-50. I think they should take 50-50, but the owners I think want even more. And that’s what disappoints me, because the players are clearly trying to make a deal. But I think the union wants to break the union for good and get a ten-year deal where they make all the profits.”

Not only did Barkley's Phoenix Suns get toasted in the 1993 NBA Finals by Jordan's Chicago Bulls, the two stars have enjoyed gambling together -- whether on the golf course or at the card table -- for decades. Watching a guy refuse to blink during last-second shots, putts with thousands of dollars on the line and all-in calls worth untold sums gives you a pretty good idea about how he might act in a business negotiation worth billions of dollars.

And how might Jordan act? Well, coldly, ruthlessly and, some might say, selfishly, of course. Jordan, a man who never forgot a slight and cherished his grudges, wants to win at all costs, no matter the venue or activity. Barkley, who has witnessed that first hand and suffered because of it, long ago took that for granted.

Of course, it's important to remember that many of the players who are criticizing Jordan -- including Indiana Pacers second-year guard Paul George and Golden State Warriors rookie Klay Thompson and -- were literally toddlers when Jordan scored 55 points in Game 4 of the 1993 NBA Finals. George and Thompson, both born in early 1990, had each just turned 3-years-old. How could they possibly know what Barkley knows about Jordan?

Does that diminish their original accusation that Jordan has acted hypocritically during labor negotiations over the last 15 years? Not totally. To outsiders, including today's players, Jordan clearly took two diametrically-opposed stances. But those stances originate from the same place: unencumbered self-interest.